Record low in pollution from biomass burning

“Global carbon emissions from biomass burning fell to a record low in the first six months of this year. That is largely thanks to reduced burning in Asia and Africa, where more permanent forms of agriculture are supplanting traditional seasonal burning,” reports The Doomslayer. That is true in spite of big wildfires raging in Europe, Canada, Russia, and the United States.

This is “based on satellite observations of active fires” from 2003 to the present. Carbon emissions from biomass burning hit a 24-year record low “for the first half of the year,””continuing the overall downward trend driven by reduced levels of seasonal biomass burning in tropical Africa.” But “boreal forest fire activity in Canada and Russia has been rapidly increasing and the global picture could change quickly.” Boreal forests are also known as the northern snow forests.

“The largest contributors” to biomass burning “by continent” were “Africa and Asia with approximately 154 and 113 megatons of carbon respectively” so far this year. “The use of fire for land clearing and agricultural practices is a common feature of the dry season in these regions.”

“Fire activity and emissions increased in North America during the second half of June…The boreal forests of North America and Eurasia typically experience large-scale and persistent wildfires during the summer months…At the end of June, emissions from fires in Canada and Siberia were around the average for the time of year.”

Last year, scientists discovered a way to cut methane emissions from cow dung, by a lot.

A crop-spraying robot saves farmers time and cuts emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Tucked away in the most extreme nooks and crannies of the Earth are biodiverse galaxies of microorganisms — some that might help scour the atmosphere of the carbon dioxide mankind has pumped into it,” reported Grist.

Microsoft is building data centers with wood to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

A wasp is saving one of the world’s rarest birds from extinction.

A very healthy coral reef is nestled among offshore oil platforms.

Fish species rebounded off the coast of California due to their young finding a sanctuary in abandoned oil rigs.